Let go of the Ghost
by Finished and Gone
Summary: AU-She loved him and she hated him, but he was the broken half she was missing. Tifa and Zack were having a perfect life until a tragedy happens...A sweet fic of Zifa/Fack
1. prologue

The doorbell rang continuously, frantically.

A toddler jumped up in excitement and clapped his small, chubby hands. His hair was tousled from sleep.

"Mama, is it Daddy?" he asked wildly, running into the kitchen and tugging Tifa's white apron. Tifa sighed and removed her hands out of the basin; her fingers were dripping with soap.

She stumbled over Zachery's toys as she headed towards the door. The doorbell rang once again, its sound resonating against the walls.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Tifa retorted. Her heart filled with delight at the thought of her husband waiting outside but she needed to lecture him first for not contacting her in three years.

She cleared her throat and prepared herself not to fall for his innocent boyish charm. Tifa swung the door open only to face a blonde-haired man in a Soldier's uniform. He wielded her husband's Buster Sword.

Rain spattered onto the concrete floor, drowning the flowers in the front yard. Tifa heard Zack's mocking laughter in the drip-drop rhythm. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. She noticed blood trickling down the blond man's face. It was foreign blood.

"Where's Zack?" Tifa whimpered. She hardly recognised her voice. It sounded like a child's, a lost and frightened child. Her hands trembled as she pushed horrific thoughts aside.

The man swallowed. His large blue eyes remained gazing at the floor; his hair was soaked with the sardonic rain.

"I'm sorry..." he croaked.

She never intended to offend her visitor but it was a reflex action that any human would have done in her situation.

Tifa Lockhart-Fair slammed the door shut and leaned against it, forcing her tears to return to the edge of her vision.


	2. Eyes that held darkness

She first met Zack in the Seventh heaven bar when she was fifteen, he was seventeen then but he was taller than most boys in her own village, almost a six foot two in height.

His dark eyes reminded her of midnight when he watched her that day.

"Hey waiter, one drink for me, please?" he grinned at her and placed his arm on the counter desk, supposedly, as Tifa thought, to show off his well built-biceps.

"Aren't you underage to drink?" Tifa smirked, she prepared a glass anyway. It wasn't everyday that her owner's bar had a First Class Soldier. The boy ran his hand through his unusual raven-coloured hair. His cheeks tinged pink.

"Don't I pass for my looks?" he asked with a weak smile. Tifa shook her head and replied with a no.

She felt his eyes prey on her like two shady skies. His lips curled into a grin again.

"I'm Zack by the way. What's your name?"

Tifa felt herself blush. She noticed the coquettish tone of his voice and ignored him, placing the glass beside the mysterious stranger.

"Never mind, I know you're Tifa."

"What? How do you know?" Her astonished expression caused his grin to widen. His eyes twinkled with malice.

Zack held her hand, causing a small squeak to escape from the girl's mouth. She pulled away immediately. He laughed at her reaction mockingly and took a sip of his drink, his blue eyes fixed on her.

"All the guys here call you that."

"You pervert! Don't look at me like that."

"Wow, you're the only girl to ever call me that, you know?" he chuckled. Tifa should have been serving another sulky customer at that time but she was enticed by this creature.

"No worries, in no time, you will fall in love with," Zack commented, his cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. It was Tifa's turn to laugh. She informed him that the chances of her falling for a pervert were impossible.

"You're gonna fall in love with me, Tifa and you're gonna fall on your knees for me," he hiccupped. His eyes held a melodious darkness, waiting for the girl to slip and fall into those depths.

"Mark my words..." his voice rang through her ears like waves of the ocean until they died on the shores of her mind.


	3. The Man, The Monster

He continued to visit her almost every day at the bar. She hated him and she liked him at the same time. He was good company.

"Hey Tifa, did you ever kiss anyone before?" he asked her one day. His accent gave him away as a country-boy.

Tifa blushed intensely and avoided eye-contact. Despite being very popular among the boys back home, she had never kissed anyone. She was too timid for that kind of physical contact.

"Mind your own business, you twit." He laughed at her response and told her how meek she was.

When summer came to an end, Tifa moved back to Nibelheim and resumed her daily job as a tour guide. She never wanted to admit it but she missed Zack...

On her seventeenth birthday, she was given long scarlet gloves that reached her elbows. They had polished metal plates around the knuckle area. When Tifa looked in the mirror to examine them, she couldn't help but scrutinise her own appearance.

Two years had changed the girl into a young woman, her face was no longer round, but her cheekbones were angular. Her eyes were still large like a baby's but her nose was long, her lips were thin.

She grimaced at her mud-coloured hair and her overly curvaceous torso. Her legs were quite long too, despite her only being five foot four. They stuck out like two slender branches out of her brown skirt.

Overall, Tifa felt _ugly_. She never liked being feminine. Sometimes she wished she was a boy so she could have joined SOLDIER like all the other boys in her village.

Raged with ire, she ran to the woods to kill off a few monsters. Her fingers were curling with the thirst to kill.

Her desire was answered when a small wolf crossed her path. Its lips trembled with a growl before it pounced on the woman, sinking its small teeth into her shoulder.

Tifa gasped in pain, her eyes almost losing focus. She kicked the wolf off of her and swung her leg in an arc-like position against its belly.

Then she lunged forward and gave it a clean punch across its face. The floor was mixed with teeth and blood. The wolf sniffed around before scampering into the dense forest.

"Yeah, run you coward!" Tifa screamed but her heart felt heavy. She stared at her hands in shock. No girl could ever possess power like this.

She froze and felt a heavy presence behind. She turned to face a large-winged bird. Its long tongue writhed out its mouth like a snake. Coated with dark, black feathers, Tifa found it hard to see if the bird had any eyes.

She tried a few high kicks but she kept missing the bird.

"Damn it...I'm not fast enough..."

The bird swayed its wings back and then thrust them forward, heaving a massive force against its opponent. Tifa rolled a few feet away from the predator; her knees were scraped from the harsh blow.

"Agh..."she moaned. She was too feeble to get back up.

Suddenly, a man somersaulted over her, landing on his feet. He grabbed his large sword that was strapped around his back and tore the bird in half effortlessly.

"Gosh, I never knew you lived in Nibelheim and I never knew you liked to fight," he faced her and flashed a toothy smile, his raven hair blowing gently in the breeze.

"Zack? I could have handled that on my own, you show-off!" Tifa hid a grin. She didn't want him to feel satisfied that she's happy to see him.

"You could have at least said thanks." He held his hand towards her with a solemn expression.

Tifa raised her eyebrow. Maybe she offended him? She prepared herself to thank him until Zack's face tilted to the side and a ludicrous smile spread over his face.

Tifa just laughed. She held his hand; her fingers circled his wrist before he helped her to stand on her feet.

"Do I get a kiss anyway?"

"Not in a million years will I kiss you, Zack. Keep dreaming." But her offense didn't bother the Soldier.

He was surveying her appearance. His lips were parted in awe.

"Wow..." he whispered.

"Excuse me?" Tifa quirked a brow and rubbed some dust off her arms.

"You've changed, Tifa. You look beautiful..."

"Liar. Don't attempt to flatter me," but Tifa was deeply touched. Despite all the secret gifts she received from the boys in Nibelheim, Zack's words were the most effective.

"I'm a man of my words. Trust me," he grinned and scanned the area around them. Sunlight barely reached the ground; the rays were trapped behind the dense leaves.

"You're pretty brave to come out here on your own. A monster could have killed you," he nodded but Tifa wasn't listening.

She felt a loop coil around her heart, squeezing the organ so that her emotions were not spilled into her soul. She wanted to tell him-she...She wanted to tell what she was feeling...

"Zack?"

"Hmph?" Zack was still admiring the height of the trees that blocked the sunlight. He looked like a hero from one of Tifa's bedtime fairytales that her father used to read to her when she was younger.

"Do you want a kiss?" she blurted. The heat rushed to her face. Zack just stared at her in disbelief and shook his head quickly.

Tifa shrugged and got ready to leave when a hand grabbed her forearm and pulled her. Before Tifa knew it, her lips crashed against Zack's. It was a brief kiss. She hauled away from him.

"M-monsters...They could take advantage of this..."she hissed. Tifa tasted blood. Her lower lip was bleeding from the harsh impact.

Zack's eyes were glazed over. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from whatever monsters there are..."he said in a low voice before leaning in for another kiss.

All Tifa could do was to think of who could save her from the monster within her new lover.


	4. The Trap

Zack was kind. He let her have her own space whenever she needed.

Tifa was new to having a relationship but Zack never forced her into anything. He was always there when she was lonely or when she just needed someone to talk to.

"How long is your mission here?" she asked one day. A year had passed between them. Zack had made a cake for her on her eighteenth birthday. Tifa didn't enjoy the extremely sugary taste but she gave him credit for his effort.

Zack slouched beside her on the couch and grinned when Tifa took another bite off the chocolate cake. She suppressed her desires to grimace.

"I'll be leaving soon," he said after she finished the slice. Tifa remained silence. She was prudent enough to expect this answer. She knew he had to leave someday. He was only back-up to guard the mako-reactor after one of the Soldiers had mysteriously disappeared.

"Will I ever see you again?" she swallowed. Zack ran his hand over his hair. The only light in the room reflected off a single lamp.

"That's if you want to or not?" he told her. Tifa raised her eyebrow. The twenty-year old Soldier loved talking in riddles with her.

"And what's that supposed to mean? Do you actually think that I wouldn't want to see you?" Tifa kept her tears lingering on the edge of her vision. She faced her companion who embraced her with his strong arms. Tifa thought that he loved setting traps for her as an excuse to touch her.

"I didn't mean it that way, Tifa. Even if you do refuse to ever see me again, I would camp outside your door! This is what I really meant though..." he let go and pulled out a small velvet blue box from his pocket.

Tifa heard her heart pound against her chest as Zack knelt opposite her on one knee. He opened the box to reveal a small ring embellished with three diamonds. The light that shone on it produced iridescent rays.

"Tifa...Will you be my wife?"Zack stared deep into her eyes. Tifa felt her throat burn. His piercing stare looked into the core of her soul, hypnotising her.

How could she say no? This was another one of his traps.


	5. Promises

She had drowned and died only to be revived by the sounds of a babe crying softly. The child's musical sounds penetrated deep into her soul. Her eyes fluttered open.

The nurse placed a newly born boy into Tifa's arms and gave the young woman an encouraging smile.

Tifa observed the face of her son, he was so much like his father with wisps of dark hair growing on his smooth head and eyes that curved elegantly at the edges.

Zack rushed into the room, breathless. He whispered her name before taking her into a tight but gentle embrace. Then he pulled back and stroked the baby's round little head.

There were tears in his eyes. Zack rarely cried. The last time Tifa had seen him do so was a year ago when they exchanged vows at Nibelheim.

"So, we settled to call him Alex," the SOLDIER grinned. Tifa shook her head. Zack tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"No, he looks just like you. We will call him Zachery," she said.

Zack heaved a sob and buried his face along Tifa's neck.

"You have given me everything a man could ask for Tifa...I love you," he whimpered.

Tifa had always been the one seeking comfort from her husband but today, she returned the favour.

* * *

She sat on the couch. Her son was asleep on her lap.

Tifa curled her fists angrily. How could Zack miss his son's first birthday? He promised he'd return home early but she heard nothing from him since his departure early morning.

Midnight gongs startled the twenty year old mother. She placed her hand over her burdened heart and stifled a cry.

The front door opened up. Tifa took Zachary to his cot. She heard her husband rummage around the kitchen.

Ire surged through her veins as she stormed to the kitchen. Zack was poking his head in the fridge, rooting around for what was left from the birthday food. He stopped and peered at Tifa over the fridge door.

"Where were you? You promised us you were coming today!" Tifa retorted.

Zack grimaced. It was then Tifa noticed a fresh cut along the SOLDIER's shoulder. The bleeding scar disappeared into his blue shirt; puss and blood kept extruding through the wool.

"Zack, what happened?" Tifa gasped. Terror gripped the muscles in her body. Her head was reeling with nausea at the sight of the hideous wound.

Zack limped towards the table. He fell to the ground before he could reach.

* * *

Zack moaned before his eyes fluttered open. Tifa scampered to the side of the bed and held his hand.

She had to call the neighbours to help her take her husband to her room.

Zack brought her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. They gazed into each other's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Tifa. I have Zachery's toys in the car," Zack began feebly.

"Zack, what happened? I was so scared when I saw you injured and..." Tifa closed her eyes to let the tears fall. They glinted in the darkness like two moonbeams.

Zack held the side of her head and brought her closer until they could hear each other's heartbeats.

"Sephiroth, he's gone mad and attacked the whole group 'cause he found out that he was an experiment. He set off to Nibelheim. My friend tried to stop him from stealing Jenova but Sephiroth jumped into the Lifestream with the head of Jenova," he told her and stopped to catch his breath.

Tifa watched him intensely. She was aching to ask him many questions but kept quiet to hear him speak first.

"Hojo took Cloud. I tried to save but I couldn't...I travelled back to Midgar to tell you this. I want you to move from here Tifa. Go to Junon, okay? I can't afford to lose you or Zachery. ShinRa could target my family. I have to help Cloud so I'll be setting off tomorrow on a long journey. It'll cost me a few years away from you but atleast you'll be safe."

Tifa lowered her head onto Zack's chest. Tears were trickling from her eyes. She wasn't saying anything but her soul was suffocating, weeping with anguish.

"Tifa, is that okay? Promise me you'll leave Midgar? I'll find you in Junon when it's all over."

Tifa was silent.

"Tifa? Are you listening? Please, I'm serious."

She felt her world shattering beneath her feet. Her heart wanted to be ripped into pieces.

"_Tifa, promise me!"_

Tifa was lost. She was drowning once again, sinking into a black nothingness.

"_Tifa!"_

Zack's voice seemed too far to reach her. Tifa was still sinking. Memories flooded into her mind. She needed to stay strong for her son. She needed to stay positive. Tifa wanted to make an oath before herself.

Her mother helped her out of the ocean and kissed her forehead.

"Tifa, promise me you will stay strong?" she smiled.

"I promise! I promise!" Tifa cried bitterly. How many more people wanted to rely on her? How could she look after Zachery on her own?

"_Thanks Tifa..."_ a distant voice whispered in the breeze that gave her comfort.


	6. Send Them Angels

She knelt onto the floor with small hands joined in prayer.

Aerith Gainsborough was no ordinary woman. She had a special connection with the Lifestream. Some say she had seen the Promised Land while others stated that the woman had the ability to communicate to the dead.

Aerith herself had never accomplished any of these rumours although she was haunted with nightmares that would have driven normal people insane with images of demons and Death.

"Oh Planet...All I ask is that Cloud lives. Send him an Angel," she whispered.

The wind blew the curtains in the small room, carrying her words to a sight most tragic.

* * *

Cloud dropped onto the floor beside his dying friend.

"Zack...Don't die, okay?" he whispered though the candle of hope had long been extinguished inside him. Cloud's face was covered with Zack's blood after the latter had shielded the young man from a range of bullets.

Zack gave a doleful laugh. The SOLDIER gazed into the skies, his tears mixed with the heavy rain that fell upon them.

"Cloud, would you carry out a dying man's wish?" he coughed. Cloud nodded, half sobbing quietly.

Here was the man he would never forget. Zack Fair, who went against ShinRa to save Cloud after Hojo was granted permission to use the blonde as his next experiment, had helped him escape and protected him when he was poisoned with mako, had given up his life for him.

Zack: the one who was so pure at heart, an incredible combatant, was now destined to rot upon this hill in the wilderness.

Cloud could barely stare at the man as he was laid in a pool of his own blood.

"I'll do anything," he swallowed.

Zack gave the blonde a grateful look and handed Cloud the Buster sword.

"I need you to bring this to my wife...She lives in Junon, the house with the most beautiful flowers. I...have a son..." Zack said. He stopped and coughed again, more violently. Blood spewed out of his mouth.

Cloud panicked at first but held Zack against his knee for support. It was strange to see the SOLDIER so weak because Zack had never shown any weakness before.

"I have a son and he needs..."Zack started but again he fell under the agony of aggressive convulsions.

"Zack! I'll do it! I promise, Zack! I'll find her!" Cloud cried, his vision was blurred from tears and rain.

Zack stopped after a long, wheezy breath.

"I'll find her, Zack. I promise. I'll find her," Cloud repeated.

He got no reply. Cloud blinked through his tears to take one last look at the friend he'll never have.

Zack Fair was dead.

* * *

Cloud's journey was not easy. When he found Tifa, she had slammed the door in front of him. It had taken the man five days to find her in the relentless rain.

Aerith would cross his mind, he had proposed to her three years ago before Sephiroth's assault on mankind and Hojo's experiments. He hadn't seen Aerith since.

But Zack hadn't seen Tifa in three years and Cloud knew he was the one to blame.

He rang the doorbell again. Tifa didn't answer.

Cloud suppressed a sob and banged his fist against the wood.

"I know you're hurting but please open the door. I have a message from Zack. I'm so sorry about what happened – "

"Just go away!" a muffled voice cut him off. Cloud shut his eyes and leaned his head against the door. He deserved this. Why should she face all this? She deserved better, she deserved Zack and Zack deserved to live.

So Cloud Strife left Tifa but he left behind the Buster Sword which was the other witness of Zack's death along himself.

* * *

Aerith remained in prayer for five days straight, eating very little and only moving from her spot occasionally.

"Please keep Cloud sake..."

Aerith had lit small candles in her room. She didn't like too much light when she prayed.

Thunder roared in the distance. It was well past midnight. The wind howled, moaning softly through the curtains.

Aerith sighed tiredly. She stood up and closed the window but it didn't stop the wailing sounds.

Shadows flickered on the walls from the light emitted by the candles. The flames were suddenly blown out together.

Aerith tried to stay calm but her heart was racing fast when she heard the front door downstairs slam shut.

Someone was inside her house and it wasn't Cloud, she recognised it because of the heavy footsteps.

Cloud always walked as if two weights were tied around his ankles, he could have easily glided across grounds.

The footsteps were now coming up the stairs. The wind bawled even louder and Aerith was still left in darkness.

She took steps backwards but tripped over a few books that she had left on the floor a few days ago. She was thrown across the floor and her ankle was sprained.

Aerith winced and rubbed her sore ankle. She was vulnerable.

The footsteps came to halt just outside her room. Aerith bit her lower lip in terror.

She sensed somebody standing outside her room, the door separated them both.

She smelt the Lifestream, mako and blood. Aerith wanted to get up and run away but panic had numbed her muscles.

The doorknob slowly began to rotate, creaking in accompaniment with the thunder.

Aerith murmured phrases of prayer as the door opened with unhurried movement.

She saw no one there, to her surprise but the stench of blood was stronger than ever. Aerith scanned the area cautiously.

When lightning flashed, Aerith saw the face of a dead man inches from her own.


	7. Visitor

When Cloud returned to his house at Midgar, he found Aerith sprawled onto the floor. Her face was pallid from fear.

"Aerith!" Cloud yelled. He took the small woman into his arms and shook her gently.

Aerith's eyes fluttered open and stared into the cold blue depths of her fiancée.

"Cloud...Zack...He – he came here," she murmured. Cloud parted his lips in shock but now wasn't the time to ask questions. He helped Aerith to the kitchen and made some coffee for her.

She smiled at him gratefully. They stared at each other, the weight of their lonely years pushing upon their postures.

The couple ran into an embrace and locked into a passionate kiss. Aerith wept on Cloud's shoulder who ran his hand through her curls, encouraging her that everything is alright now.

"I owe Zack, Aerith. He gave up his life so that I may live...I'm so sorry," he whispered. A solitary tear trickled down his cheek.

"Cloud, he came to me! He came in the middle of the night!" cried Aerith. Cloud helped her to a couch where she could settle down.

Aerith took a couple of deep breaths and her fiancée sat beside her, rubbing her shoulder for support.

"Zack paid me a visit from the Lifestream. He told me you went to deliver his message to Tifa."

"That wasn't very successful..."Cloud whispered.

"He knew that so he came to ask for my help. I will leave tomorrow to find her. He wants me to help Tifa to move on in her life." Aerith glanced at the blonde. There were dewdrops in her eyes.

Cloud nodded in consent. This was why he loved Aerith so much. She was like an Angel.

* * *

"Mummy, when is Daddy coming back?" Zachary asked her. Tifa tucked him into bed and kissed his forehead.

"Soon dear, soon," she told him and closed the door behind her. Tifa walked down the stairs, her face was straight.

So what if Zack died? She was the one who took care of Zachary. She was the one who had to wait for three painful years. What did he do? He went and chose to help a stranger over his own family.

Tifa peeked out of the window. Fog surrounded her garden. The Buster Sword was lying among the flowers, glinting in the moonlight.

She slowly opened the latch on the front door and stepped out. A lump formed in her throat. Tifa sat beside the sword. It looked so forlorn, lost in the midst of beauty.

But it had a piece of Zack. So what if the Buster Sword was hideous? Its owner was the most beautiful person Tifa had ever known. She held the handle slowly, imagining how Zack would hold it.

She tried to remember him. What did he look like? Tifa felt her senses dim to nothing. Every heart beat was like a dagger to her chest.

She couldn't remember Zack's face, his smile, his laughter. What did he sound like? His features were blurred in her mind. The harder she tried to remember him, the more she forgot.

Tifa screamed in anguish and thrust the Buster Sword away from her. She gripped the grass around her and cried as hard as she could. The pain inside her unbearable.

Tifa hung her head in sorrow. She swallowed her emotions back. What mattered now was the future. She needed to raise Zachery.

The memories of Zack had to be tucked away.

* * *

Aerith stood outside Tifa's lawn. The flowers had withered away. It was a pitiable sight.

"Anyone there?"

It was already cleared to her. Her only reply was the empty house.

Tifa had left Junon.


	8. Tifa Dont Move on, Remember Me

Tifa picked up the remaining glasses on the table as the last of the customers left the bar. Running and the Seventh Heaven pub for ten years didn't provide too much money but it was enough to live.

She heard the door open and a man with long red hair entered.

"We're closing," Tifa said curtly. She crossed her arms across her leather shirt and glared at the visitor.

"Ah, come on Tifa! You always dismiss me too early," the man chuckled. Tifa sensed Zachary spying on them from the kitchen door and giggling.

"Reno, what is it this time?" She sighed and took a long brush to sweep to the floor.

"Here, let me," Reno ordered and pulled the brush from her. Tifa opened her mouth to protest but the Turk pecked a kiss on her cheek. She blushed intensely.

"Reno! How many times have I told you that I hate physical contact?"

"Tifa, nothing will stop me tonight," Reno grinned. He stepped closer to her. Tifa felt her heart beat loudly inside her body like the clock that ticked away in the bar. Reno slipped his hand into the midnight strands of her hair. He held her hand with his other.

"Tifa, it'll be your thirty-third birthday in an hour and I wanna take you to some place special. Some place where you could keep your mind away from things."

The offer was very tempting. Tifa gazed into the man's face. He was handsome, no doubt with jutting cheekbones and attractive blue eyes.

Reno had appeared into her life three months ago like a flower growing in barren land. He brought colour into her days with his clumsy yet humorous attitude and she developed a crush on him.

"That's very sweet but I have some things to do," she replied.

"You always say that! Come on, Tifa. Give me a chance! I promise there won't be any physical contact!" Reno protested.

Tifa thought for a moment. Perhaps it was time to move on. Her eyes lingered to their hands, their fingers entwined but then they fell upon the diamond ring. It was _his_ diamond ring and she felt a heavy weight on that finger.

She imagined Zack standing in the corner, his eyes fixed on her in anger. She imagined his sour expression at the fact that he's dead and she was in line to move on with another man.

No, she can't let that happen. She won't let Reno take Zack's place.

"She'll love to go!" came a young male voice from the kitchen. Zachary tripped into the bar. He got up immediately and gave a boyish grin. At fourteen years of age, he resembled his father more than ever.

"Zachary! How dare you decide for me!" Tifa snapped. Reno chortled and praised Zachary's decision.

"At a boy Zack! You and I make a great team like father and son!" he winked at the boy who jumped in excitement of being complimented.

Their vivacious behaviour didn't soften Tifa's boiling temper. She tore away from Reno's grasp and pointed a finger at the door.

"Get out! You're not his father! How dare you act as if you can just walk into my life and take control of it! Go now! Please!" she shrieked.

Reno stood still. His eyes were wide in shock. He headed towards the door but stopped beside a table. The Turk rummaged through his coat. He left a box wrapped in silver paper on the edge of the table before lumbering out of the bar.

Zachary's eyes filled with tears.

"Mum, that was totally evil! It's not like Dad was ever there for me. At least Reno cares for me unlike some stupid man who abandoned his family!"

"Do not ever speak like that about your father! That's it, you're grounded for two months," Tifa retorted. Zachary moaned in complaint. He stomped up the stairs.

Tifa trudged into the kitchen. She sat on a chair opposite a round table. There were three chairs. Even at dinner time, she left empty plates and cutlery on that vacant spot, hoping in some way that a dead hero would surprise her and walk in to the scent of food. Zachary never complained about her loneliness.

Perhaps it was harder for Zachary to accept the death of a father he never remembers. He was, after all, only one year old when Zack left to save his friend. Tifa wiped the dewdrops from her eyes. She had to apologise to her son.

She climbed the stairs, hearing unusual thumping sounds coming from the room where she left Zack's belongings. Panic took over her.

"Zachary?"

She entered the forlorn room. Her son was tossing piles of Zack's clothes into a large black sack.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Tifa demanded. Zachary ignored her and picked some of the Soldier's trophies. He didn't give a second glance before flinging them into the sack.

"What's going on? You want to move your father's stuff?"

"No, I'm throwing them away. What does it look like?" he replied rudely. Tifa stifled a cry. The words were like arrows to her heart. She raised a hand and slapped the adolescent across the face.

Zachary let go of a book in his hands and stared at Tifa, confused. Tifa puckered her lips in. A tear slipped from her eyes.

The boy kicked the book across the floor and stormed out of the room.


	9. She Let him Go

Aerith stood outside the Seventh Heaven bar. After ten years of relentless searching, she has finally found out where Tifa was living. It frustrated her that Tifa was living in Midgar like her but Aerith was searching all around the rest of Gaia.

Cloud placed his hand on the brunette's shoulder and nodded slightly. Aerith flashed him a meek smile and entered. Her heart felt lighter already knowing that Zack's message would finally be heard.

The bar was full at lunch hour. Tifa was serving a couple at the corner while Zachary helped the rest of the customers.

Tifa paused when she noticed Cloud. Her expression darkened. Her eyes illustrated hostility.

"Tifa..."Cloud began. Tifa made a hushing sound.

"Not in front of my customers," she warned and led the couple into the kitchen. She slammed the door behind her.

"Why are you here? Zack's dead. He'll never come back and it's your entire fault. Don't you realise that? Please leave."

"We know Zack will never come back...But, this is my wife, Aerith. She had a meeting with Zack few days after he died," Cloud explained.

Tifa wore a cynical expression. She almost looked jealous as she turned to look at Aerith.

Aerith held the bartender's hand and smiled warmly.

"Tifa, he visited me from the Lifestream to pass a message to you," she whispered. Tifa murmured something inaudible. She swallowed before asking what Zack had told Aerith.

Aerith allowed the raven-haired woman to sit on a chair.

"He said that he wants you to move on."

Tifa gave a slight whimper at this. Aerith sighed and continued.

"Keeping him in your heart like this will never grant him peace, Tifa. You have to let him go so that his spirit will be free."

"Is that all?" Tifa croaked.

"No, he asks for forgiveness from you. He is sorry that he wasn't there for you when you needed him the most. He's sorry that Zachary will never know what kind of man his father really was. He's sorry that you had to endure all these years of loneliness."

"Please, that's enough," Tifa whispered. A solitary tear trickled down her right eye. Aerith embraced her gently. The woman's sympathy caused the bartender to cry.

Tifa cried with all her heart. The years of torture she endured were flowing out of her soul through her tears. Aerith ran her hand through Tifa's hair.

"Zack doesn't want you to hold onto memories for happiness; he wants you to hold onto what's real. He loves you Tifa...A lot, and that's why he wants you to move on in life because you deserve to be happy."

Tifa was wailing now. She released herself from Aerith's embrace and banged her fists on the table.

"Damn you Zack Fair! You wretched man! Damn you!" she shrieked but Aerith sensed that the burden on Tifa's shoulders was no longer there.

Tifa Lockhart-Fair was reborn as a new woman.

The bartender spun to face Aerith again and threw her arms around the small woman. She eyed Cloud and smiled warmly.

"Thank you both...Thank you..." she sobbed.

In the dark corner, Aerith recognised a raven haired man dressed in SOLDIER attire. The spirit flashed a thumb-up and a doleful smile before fading to dust.


	10. Salvation

Zachary entered his father's room. To his surprise, Tifa was packing away Zack's clothes.

"Mum, what are you doing?" he asked. Tifa turned to him with a wide grin. She grabbed him into an embrace.

"Mum! Cut it out!" Zachary protested but in his heart he adored his mother. It wasn't often that she held him like this. He missed how playful she was. He missed who she was, the Tifa that showered him with unconditional love.

"You were right," Tifa said as she he slipped away. Zachary raised a brow.

"You were right," Tifa repeated, "About Zack's belongings. You were doing the right thing to throw them away. Well, okay not throw them away but I'm giving them to charity."

Zachary felt his heart drop. He sat on a chair to prevent himself from trembling. As much as he hated Zack for ruining his mother's happiness, he never wanted his father's memory out of his life. If Zack's possessions leave the house, it's like if pieces of him are walking out with them.

"Zachary, what's wrong?" Tifa's smile vanished. She knelt opposite her son with concern.

Zachary stared at his shoes. His blinked through misty vision and avoided looking at Tifa.

"Mum, will my father forgive us if we do this?" he swallowed.

Tifa placed a hand on his knee and shook her head.

"No Zachary, your father wouldn't do that. The dead don't like to interfere with the living. I know your father wants you to look into the future. Not the past," she whispered.

Zachary let out a sob. The anger, the sorrow, the pain that he had sheltered inside his heart was bursting through the organ.

"But does that mean...We'll just forget him?"

Tifa embraced him again, tighter than before. Tears spilled from her eyes.

"No Zachary and I'll show you why but listen to me first. Zack is alive through the little things he owns. Your father was the best man I've ever known and the best I'll ever know. Other people deserve to know why he's the best and we'll give them everything Zack owns so they'll know who he was and he'll stay alive through us all. Zack will never die in our hearts."

They stood there in the dawn, crying, hugging and praying.

Tifa was the first to wipe away the tears.

"Come with me. You said you wanted to know what you're father looked like for real. Then come."

Zachary was confused about her statement but followed his mother to the bar downstairs. He helped her carry the sacks that contained all of Zack's belongings. The only thing left in spare room now was the Buster Sword.

Zachary stopped at the bar beside a mirror. He gasped quietly at his own reflection.

"I'm..."

Tifa stood beside him.

"See? You are Zack and from now on, you'll be called Zack." She said with a smile and pecked a kiss on her son's temple.

A large, stout man was waiting at the door to for the sacks they had brought down.

"Oh and get ready quickly. I promised Reno that we'll meet him at the cinema," Tifa uttered

Zachary beamed at this. Things were looking brighter.

"Thank you," the large man stated as he took the sacks.

Zachary noticed someone else beside the charity-worker that he didn't see at first. He had spiky-black hair and wore SOLDIER attire. He winked at Zachary and followed the corpulent man outside.

"Dad?..." Zachary asked.

"What's that, dear?"

"Over there! Look, he's walking out!" Zachary exclaimed, pointing at the second man walking out of the bar. He turned to his mother

Tifa wore a cynical expression.

"Can't you see him?..." he whispered but when he looked back, the SOLDIER was consumed by the fog outside.

Zachary pushed his way out.

"Dad!"

He couldn't see anyone in the fog.

"Dad! Come back!" Zachary said, tears brimming in his eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his sleeve. Tifa ran to his side. She placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Zack? What is it?"

"Mum, I saw him! He walked out! He left!"

"What?" Tifa let go and disappeared into the mist but Zachary knew she would never find the SOLDIER ever again no matter where she searched.

Zack had been with them all along and now he had left to find peace.

Zack Fair had walked out of the house with the rest of his possessions. No more will he be trapped within Nostalgia and Sadness.

He had found Salvation.

**The End**


End file.
